Why is FREIGHT SO CHEAP??

This is a question I've asked many, and yet, no one seems to have a verifiable answer. Does anyone know why freight is so bad?

Let me start by listing off the things that aren't true:

-Fuel costs being low. (This doesn't make a huge difference in how much YOUR cost-per-mile should be.
For example: It does not explain how things went from 2.00+/mile to 0.86/mile on average. The last time I thought about this I'm pretty sure an O/O can't afford to run his/her truck for less than 1.50/mile average. Give or take depending on if the individual owns his/her own truck and trailer and has it paid off. )

-The economy is bad. (This is a bunch of bs that brokers are shoving down your throats. Yes, the economy is bad. It's been bad for some time now. But take a look at some of the shippers out there. They're making millions off of stupid O/O's who do not know their operating costs and are taking these loads. If everyone just realized that it's better to sit and deny the bad freight than to take it to "Keep the wheels moving".

-Consumers aren't purchasing things as much anymore. (Another bs answer. People buy things everyday. How do you eat? Of course everyone still eats.)

Brokers are doing this as a whole, almost if they're all reading from the same manual. How is the national average less than 0.60/mile? That's a driver salary alone (give or take).

I can't blame the brokers 100% either, because the shippers are also giving horrible rates. That right there is the problem! THE BROKER SHOULD BE RESPECTFUL OF THE CARRIER AND MAKE SURE ALL COSTS ARE IN THE RATE SO THE CARRIER MAKES AT LEAST SOME MONEY. Once all the O/O's are bankrupt and out of business maybe the brokers and shippers will learn that the larger carriers really don't care much about shipper accounts as they have MANY of them. Good luck getting your freight hauled in the near future.


Brokers = Sit at home or in office grossing up to 1 million annually. And for all who say it takes "work" to get shippers. You are full of ####. It takes about 1-1.5 hrs of calling shippers to get contracts as a broker. The truth is there is no "work" being done by brokers - it takes $ to start the business and you're ready to go. Broker authority.. CHECK, bond on file... CHECK, BOC-3....CHECK, UCR paid....CHECK. Take 45% of every load...CHECK. (Not all brokers take 45%, but many do.)

Carriers (O/O's) = Work 7 days a week, pay for all costs to haul the load, pay taxes (IFTA, 2290, various HUTs), pay fuel, pay insurance, pay truck and trailer payments, tolls, truck and trailer maintenance, accounting fees, etc. Make less than 40,000/year after expenses while being harassed by the FMCSA, DOT. O/O's are treated like children. They're told when to eat, when to sleep, when to awake, when to drive. Regulations and low rates push O/O's to disobey the law in order to get the low-paying load to it's destination only to be harassed by DOT and local police for being out of hours or trying to park and told to leave or given a ticket. I mean, you can't even sleep during the day or it will take out hours from your 14. What if you're sleepy and only need a nap? Nope, just keep driving tired because you'll be illegal to drive and late for your appointment.

This is all a game, it's all about $$$. And O/O's are segregated from the money-making crowd.


The point I'm trying to make is that freight rates have no reason to be low. They're low on purpose. And as O/O's continue running the freight, people will keep rates that way. The only thing we can hope is that they don't have deep pockets and they go out of business sooner than later.

If someone here has "inside" information to prove me wrong, I'd gladly like to hear an answer. If you look, there truly is NO FREIGHT SHORTAGE.

 

Any proof of this? I just spoke to Preferred Freezer Services out of NJ last week and their rates were about 1.25/mile. That was their rate for broker or carrier.